Tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day - Support your local store!

Free Comic Book Day
Comic Book Day
Graphic Novels
Comic Books
Comic Book Day 2015
Free Comic Book Day 2015
Serialised Art
Comic Book Stores
Comic Book Stores London
+-

You may recall my delight at visiting this year’s Super London Comic Convention, and my declaring this the year of the comic! Every year something different takes my focus of attention. Two years ago it was blu-rays, last year it was grownup Lego, and this year I have become obsessed again with comics - strictly speaking Graphic Novels or Serialised Art. I have found a new level of admiration for the level of detail and process that goes into creating a typical comic book. In particular the skill of the colourist. A typical comic requires input from the following creative roles:

Author / Creator / Narrator

Illustrator / Line Artist / Penciller

Layout Artist

Inker

Colourist

Letterer

On occasion, a comic may be produced by just one or two individuals, but usually there are more involved, and for some collaborations up to a dozen. Most don’t realise how much impact the colourist can have on the final version of the art - I encourage you to look up the work of Peter Steigerwald, Ula Mos and Nei Ruffino. A great example of Ula’s work can be found in the Dark Shaman illustration below, line art by Mike Krome:

Favourite Comic Publishers

Here follows a list of my favourite imprints, I have excluded behemoths DC and Marvel, although DC is represented via its more independent imprints Vertigo and Wildstorm - in truth I buy very little from the mainstream publishers ...

Favourite Ongoing Series TPBs

The below list really shows how dominant Image has become, as it occupies most of the spaces in the following 50 strong list. Note that Grimm Fairy Tales includes a myriad of different yet crossed-over titles, of which I’ve listed the most popular - Wonderland separately. I have asterisked my 12 best loved series if you only have time for those!:

Alex + Ada - 2 volumes | Image

Aphrodite IX - 4th volume July | Top Cow / Image *

Birthright - 1 volume | Image

Bitch Planet - 1st volume July | Image

Black Science - 3rd volume September | Image

Chew - 9 volumes | Image *

Coffin Hill - 3rd Volume October | Vertigo

Copperhead - 1 volume | Image

Deadly Class - 2 volumes | Image

Death Vigil - 1st volume July | Image

Descender - 1st volume August | Image

East of West - 4th volume June | Image *

Fairest - 5th volume August | Vertigo

Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist - 2 volumes | Dynamite

God is Dead - 5th volume May | Avatar

Grimm Fairy Tales - 50+ volumes | Zenescope

Hinterkind - 3rd volume August | Vertigo

The Humans - 1 volume | Image

Lady Mechanika - 1st volume due | Aspen / Benitez

Lazarus - 3 volumes | Image *

Legend of Oz - 4 volumes | BDI / Aspen

Low - 1 volume | Image

Manifest Destiny - 3rd volume September | Image

Nailbiter - 2 volumes | Image

ODY-C - 1st volume June | Image

Outcast - 1 volume | Image

Prophet - 4 volumes | Image

Rat Queens - 2nd volume May | Image *

Ravine - 2 Volumes | Top Cow / Image *

Revival - 5th volume May | Image

Roche Limit - 1 volume | Image

Saga - 5th volume October | Image *

Shahrazad - 1 volume | BDI / Aspen *

Sex - 3 volumes | Image

Sex Criminals - 2 Volumes | Image *

Shutter - 2nd Volume July | Image

Southern Bastards - 2nd volume May | Image

Sunstone - 2nd volume May | Top Cow / Image *

Tales of Honor - 1 volume | Top Cow / Image

The Tithe - 1st volume July | Image

Trees - 1 volume | Image

Uber - 3 volumes | Avatar

Velvet - 2nd volume June | Image

Wayward - 1 volume | Image *

The Wicked + The Divine - 2nd Volume July | Image *

Witchblade - 20+ volumes | Top Cow / Image

Witchfinder - 3 volumes | Dark Horse

Wonderland - 20 volumes | Zenescope

Wytches - 1st volume July | Image

Zero - 4th volume August | Image

Where to get Comics in London

I’m very fortunate to live in central London, as there are 3 excellent stores right in the centre. I tend to start at Holborn tube, and walk down High Holborn towards Shaftesbury Avenue, first taking in Forbidden Planet, then traversing down to Orbital Comics on Great Newport Street and finally crossing over to Gosh! on Berwick Street.